There isn’t too much on the trail that I haven’t ridden. Either over, under, around or through. But one thing I never considered was riding in the dark.
I guess that I always had enough time in the day to get the amount of riding I was physically capable of. So why look elsewhere to get in a ride or more ride time? Well, then life changes. You have a couple of kids, get a job that requires more responsibility and your work hours go up. Then you start struggling to find time to get the bike out when you usually would in the daylight hours.
So how do you end up trying to ride in the dark for the first time? Your crazy new Neighbour suggests it! What could go wrong right? Well, plenty if you don’t get the right gear. You will 100 times out of 100, hit the rock you don’t see in the dark. Then we will end up in a different article I write wondering why I have a cast on and no riding for 6 weeks.
So there is some research needed for your bike, your helmet, and even your goggles to make this a safe and fun ride.
I always like to present Australian based products as often as possible but in this area of products. That was difficult. There are a few high priced options from overseas for the main bike headlight. But given that they rely on stator upgrades and rectifiers. It seemed much simpler to avoid disappointment on a purchase and use the one local headlight company I came across easily with a Google search. Hence we partnered up with Moto3D for our bike headlight option.
So what do you need to know to get your bike set up for a headlight upgrade?
The basics to start with. Brand, Model and year. What you will then find out with some simple research is that certain brands, and certain models within brands. Have different wiring arrangements. In that, some are AC (Alternating Current), whilst others are DC (Direct Current). For the LED light. DC is required. So if your bike is running AC. As my test bike for this inspection is. You will also need a rectifier to change the current to allow the headlight to work.
The next thing you will need to consider is light output. Each light has a max output. As in 4200 lumens at 40w. If your bike is a smaller capacity (CC’s) and older model. E.g. 2017 or later. The bikes-ability to put out the max output may be reduced. If you want the max output. A stator upgrade is required. I was not relying on the Headlight in this inspection as my only light source. I also only used 40W and below. So a Stator upgrade was not required. If you choose a light from the overseas options. A stator upgrade is almost a guaranteed add on.
After that, from a headlight aspect. It’s pretty simple with Moto3D. The headlight unit simply bolts into your existing headlight plastics and is wired with the correct plugs for your bike to allow simple plug and play. You only have to pick at this point, high or standard output option, and what colour light body you want. Easy right?
The specs for the two options from Moto 3D are below. As for their performance and which we prefer. You will have to check back to Part 2 of “Into the night” for that info.
Moto3D
Standard output
RRP $200 for the KTM Carby Models + Rectifier $50.
Power: 30W
Lumens: 3000Lm
Colour Temperature: 6000-6500k
Beam type: Combo (spot/flood)
Weight: 454g
Waterproof rating: IP67
High Output
RRP $320 for the KTM Carby Models + Rectifier $50
Power: 40W
Lumens: 4200Lm
Colour Temperature: 5700k
Beam type: Flood
Weight: 702g
Waterproof rating: IP68
More information on Moto3D products can be found at www.moto3d.com.au
Be sure to use the discount code always10off with Moto3D at check out to save 10% off your purchase.
So what about my helmet and goggles? Don’t I just need an upgrade on the headlight on my bike? You can get away with it. But if you want more out of the ride. As in more light and more vision. Then a helmet that allows a suitable mounting point for a helmet light. Along with a goggle brand such as XBrand that has options for a clear or yellow lens to replace your tinted lens will make massive improvements in your vision.
Now, Helmet mounted lights are not something you find in the Moto catalogue. So we linked up with another Australian brand in CleanSkin. A Mountain Bike (MTB) company that makes a variety of MTB products and many a product that those that cross over into MTB are probably already aware of if you shop on MTBDirect.com.au
They have numerous options in LED, independent battery-based light options that are small, lightweight and extremely bright. The MTB guys have been doing 24hrs races for years and know a thing or two about lightweight products. These CleanSkin lights in the MTB world are used both as a bike-mounted headlight and a helmet-mounted headlight. Thanks to multiple mounting options available within the box as standard.
For us Moto riders using these MTB products. A GoPro mount option was the easiest to secure the lights on the helmet. This is then the consideration for your helmet about suitable flat surfaces to stick a GoPro mount on to.
It then comes to another decision part. How big? How much light? What position do you want to mount it (or can mount it on your helmet)? And do you want to carry a separate battery pack?
These things are again to be reviewed in Part 2 of “Into the night”.
The four CleanSkin options and specs are below. Including the rear tail light, which you may need if you don’t have a bike-mounted tail light.
Clean Skin
Duo 2200 Lumen LED Light
RRP $124.94 ($98.95 on MTB Direct)
Features
Handlebar, helmet or GoPro Mountable
Four Modes:
High – 2200 Lumen – up to 3.5hours
Middle – 1500 Lumen – Up to 15hours
Low – 800 Lumen – Up to 30hours
Strobe – 2200 Lumen – up to 4hours
2x Cree XM-L2 LED 50,000-hour lifespan
Charges in 6 hours with supplied Australian Wall Charger
Lamp Body – Anodised Aluminum housing – 45mm wide, 35mm long, 25mm high
Weighs just 77g
Battery 8.4v 4400mAh Li-Ion – 40 x 40 x 78mm – sub 250g
The cable coming off the lamp is 73cm long
The cable coming off the battery is 50cm long
Unite 1800 Lumen LED Light
RRP 109.95
Features:
Handlebar, helmet or GoPro Mountable
Eight Modes
Combo – 1800 Lumen – up to 1.8hours
High – 900 Lumen – up to 3.5 hours
Mid – 450 Lumen – up to 7 hours
Low – 225 Lumen – up to 15hrs
Strobe – 900 Lumen
Flashing – 900 Lumen
Body Made from Aircraft-grade 7075 Aluminum
101mm long, 39mm high, and 44mm wide
Weighs just 207g
4x CREE XGP LED’s 50,000-hour lifespan
Digital battery level display
USB Chargeable in 3.5hrs
2x 18650 6400mAh Panasonic rechargeable internal Li-ion battery
This model also acts as a power bank with a USB A output to charge a variety of devices.
Unite 1000 Lumen LED Light
RRP $74.95 ($69.95 on MTB Direct)
Features
Handlebar, helmet or GoPro Mountable
Six Modes:
Turbo – 1000 Lumen – Up to 2hours
High – 400 Lumen – Up to 3.5 hours
Mid – 180 Lumens – Up to 8.5 hours
Low – 50 Lumen – Up to 32 hours
Strobe – 1000 Lumen
Flashing – 180 Lumen
Body Made from Aircraft-grade 7075 Aluminum
111mm long, 29mm high, diameter 26mm
Weights just 89g
1x CREE XP-L LED 50,000-hour lifespan
3 level battery indicator
Battery – USB chargeable in 3.5hours
3.7V 2600mAh 18659 rechargeable Li-ion battery
Battery dimensions 65 x 18 x 18mm weighing 45g
Emit 100 Lumen LED Tail Light
RRP $ 19.95 (On MTB direct)
Features:
30 COB LED’s
100 Lumen output
6 modes
USB rechargeable
Up to 30 hours runtime
More CleanSkin product information is available at https://www.cleanskinmtb.com/
In Part 2 of “Into the night”. We will give you the info on what worked best for us. Some insight into adjustments we made along the way. As well as how much fun it is to moto in the dark.
